This cartoon was directly inspired by a 2014 study of wealth and political influence. An article in The Hill describes what the study found:

A shattering new study by two political science professors has found that ordinary Americans have virtually no impact whatsoever on the making of national policy in our country. The analysts found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States. [...]

The analysts found that when controlling for the power of economic elites and organized interest groups, the influence of ordinary Americans registers at a "non-significant, near-zero level." The analysts further discovered that rich individuals and business-dominated interest groups dominate the policymaking process. The mass-based interest groups had minimal influence compared to the business-based interest groups.

The study also debunks the notion that the policy preferences of business and the rich reflect the views of common citizens. They found to the contrary that such preferences often sharply diverge and when they do, the economic elites and business interests almost always win and the ordinary Americans lose.

So that's cheerful, isn't it?

This is an important issue and I should find more ways to do cartoons about it.

Artwise, I think this cartoon is pretty decently drawn. The most challenging thing about it was the crowd of citizens at the bottom of the strip; they all had to be drawn from behind at a 3/4 angle, which is not the easiest angle to draw someone at.